Multiposition switch



g- 1949- R. H. BENTLEY 2,479,462

MULTIPOSITION SWITCH Filed Oct. 31, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.ROBERT H. BENTLEY M ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 1949- R. H. BENTLEY 2,479,462

MULTIPOSITION swn'cn Filed Oct. 51, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g 1 7 Z m -O iO- if y in.

INVENTOR. ROBERT H. BENTLEY A; ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 18, 1949 MULTIPOSITION SWITCH Robert 11. Bentley,Hartford, 061m, assignor to The Arrow-Hart & Hegeman Electric Company,Hartford, Qonn a corporation of Connecticut Application October :1,1947, Serial No. 783,808 13 Claims. (01. goo-e) This invention relatesto improvements in electric switches and more particularly switches inwhich the movable contact member is capable of occupying severalpositions.

It is an object of my invention to provide a novel structure oi amulti-position switch in which the parts may be of separate form andinexpensively manufactured and in which the assembly costs will be keptat a minimum in accordance with the liability of operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a switch of the foregoingtype in which the movable contact is maintained inits differentpositions resiliently, but from which it may be moved without greateffort and without need of overcoming undue frictional forces.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will occur as it isdescribed in the accompanying drawings.

Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of switch mechanism embodying. theinvention, with the cover plate and operating lever removed;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevational section view taken along line 2-2of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1:

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of certain arts of the movablecontact operation means;

' one end thereof. These extensions seat in U- shaped recesses in theinside of the outer walls of the outer chambers l2 and it. Thus, thebosses l8 and 22 at one end are supported for axial rotation by therecesses in which the extensions l9 and 23 seat, and at the other end bythe recesses in the walls between the inner chamber I6 and outerchambers l2 and H.

Movable bridging contacts are carried by the bosses l8 and 22, beingmounted thereon at the shoulder between or juncture of the reduced ends(l9 and 23) with the main portion of the bosses.

Fig. 5 is a plan view similar to Fig. 1 0! an- 1 other form of theinvention;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal elevational view taken along line 6-8 of Fig.5;

Fig. '1 is a longitudinal elevational section view taken along line 1-1of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the bridging contacts andtheir carrying means.

Referring to the drawings, the switch mechanism is mounted upon andmainly housed within an insulating casing ll, preferably of mouldedinsulating material. The casing is hollowed out to form three parallellongitudinal chambers l2, it and it of approximately equal width. Thetwo outer chambers 12 and it are, or may be deep, extending fully to athin bottom wall of the casing. The central chamber II is preferably ofless depth. being approximately one-half the depth of the other twochambers. The central chamber has its side walls divided at their middlepart by U-shaped bearing passages to receive cylindrical bearing bossesl8 and 22.

The bosses l8 and 22 are alike and preferably made of insulatingmaterial with reduced axial The illustrated movable bridging contactmembers 28 and 3|! are alike, being preferably stamped from thin,flexible sheet metal into the form best indicated in Fig. 4, wherein itmay be observed that arms ll and 32 extend obliquely from a roundcentral portion. In order to cause the bridging contact to move with theboss on which it is mounted, oppositely extending radial lugs, such as24, are provided on the extensions 23 and IS. The lugs and theirassociated extension fit within a complementary recess, such as 33, inthe bridging member. To space the bridging contacts from the insidesurface of the outer walls of the chambers i2 and I4, washers, such as3|, are placed on the extensions, between the outer wall of the chamberand the bridging contact.

A number of stationary contact members are or may be located in each ofthe chambers i2 and i4. Preferably these contacts are three in number,being located at opposite ends of the casing and in the bottom of thecasing at the middle. The end contacts which may be similar, aredesignated generally by the numerals 38, 38, 40 and 42. They havevertical portions such as 36a (referring to Fig. 3) whose edges areslidably received in slots i5 and I! (Fig. 1) formed in opposite wallsof the chamber [4 at the ends thereof. By this means it is possible toslide the vertical portion (such as 36a of the contact 36) into positionat the end of the chamber. The fixed contacts (referring for example tocontact 36) have a contact portion, such as 36b, extending from and bentat right angles to the vertical portion 36a adjacent the top edge of thecasing iii and lying along the inside surface of the outer wall of thechamber It in position to be engaged by the end of the arms 32 of themovable contact iii. For the purpose oi. attaching conductor wire,

a terminal portion flc extends from the top of the vertical portion 38aof contact 36 and is bent in a direction to lie outside the casing l 0.

Formed and mounted in like manner are the circular extensions (I9 and21) extending from stationary contacts it, it and 42. The contacts 3-llandflarelocatedinopposlteendsofthe chamber l2. In the bottom ofchambers l2 and I4 are central contacts, such as 3!. These contacts maybe stamped from sheet metal with terminal por- -tions. such as "a,extending through an aperpeening over a portion of the contact memberlying outside the bottom of the casing. The contact portion 39c is inposition to be engaged by the end of the arm 32 of the movable contact30 when the end of the arm 3| engages the contact 38. when the end ofthe arm 32 engages the contact 36, the end of the arm 3| will engage thecentral contact 88. A similar engagement of the fixed contact 40 and 42and the central contact in the chamber l2 takes place and isaccompiished by the movement of the bridging contact 28.

In order to move the contact carrying bosses I 8 and 22, I have provideda pair of metallic stampings, such as 50. which are mounted uponrectangular extensions, such as 20, on the inner ends of the bosses l8and 22. The stampings are of circular shape, having a flange in whichare formed recesses 5|, 52 and I3- which are diametrically opposite torecesses 54, I5 and 56 respectively, so as to receive indexing balls 58and 59 which are spring pressed by compression springs 63, intoengagement with the stampings. The movement of the stampings coniointlyand thereby movement also of the bosses I8 and 22 is accomplished bymeans of a lever or handle 60 mounted in a cylindrical mounting nipple82 of a form now well understood in the art, the nipple being mountedupon a metallic cover plate 64 in conventional fashion and having adiametrical pivot pin '85 extending through the nipple on which thelever 80 is'mounted. The inner end of the lever lies between the twostampings ill and has passing transversely through it a small pin 6|whose ends are adapted to lie and move within radial slots 51 formed inthe stampings 50. Thus, as the lever Gil is moved from mid-position asshown in Fig. 2 to the right or to the left, the engagement of the pin6| with the sides of the slot 51 will cause the stamplngs 50 to rotateand also turn the bosses l8 and 22, thereby operating the movablecontact members into and out of their three different positions. It willbe noted that in the mid-position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the movablecontact is disengaged from all of the stationary contacts.

The balls 58 and 59 and their springs 63 are located in opposite ends ofthe center chamber It.

In order to hold each spring and its ball in the bottom of the chamberin which they are located, I have provided a stamped sheet metal frame,designated generally by the numeral I0, over each spring and ball set.These frames have a horizontal bar portion H overlying the spring 63 andat theouter-end thereof a vertical portion bent down tofthe bottom ofthe chamber. Ex-

'4 ing balls and retaining frames are housed therein, similar to thosein the previously described form.

As in the previously described form, stationary contacts may be locatedin the four corners of the casing at the ends of the outside chambers H2and Ill. Such contacts may be stamped L shaped members, such as I36,thelong leg of which may extend through the floor of the casing toprovide a wire terminal I366. Preferably the stationary contact membersare seated in L- shaped shallow recesses Ill so that only the side faceof the members projects slightly beyond the, inside wall of the chamberin position to be engaged by the ends of the arms of the bridgingcontact members 130.

As illustrated in Figs. 5-8, the bridging contact is of similar shape tothe bridging contact 30 in the previous form. It will be understood,however, that the bridging contact in each form may be of difierentconfiguration depending entirely upon what contacts it is desired shallbe engaged by the bridging contact in the several positions of theswitch mechanism.

Although a central contact on the floor of the switch casing in theshape illustrated in the previously described form of the invention maybe used, a central contact of different form may be employed for someuses of the switch. Thus, in Figs. 5-7 there is illustrated a centralcontact having a bar-shaped contact portion I39 lying along the insidewall of the chamber H4 at the bottom thereof. A transverse connectingportion I40 extends from the middle of the top edge of the contact I39transversely across the base in a channel MI in the middle .of thecasing and at the bottom thereof. At the opposite side of the casingfrom the contact portion Hi) the connecting portion joins anotherconnector portion I42 which is bent up at a right angle from thetransverse part I40 and extends horizontally for a short way along theinside surface of the outside wall of the chamber 2 toward its right end(Figs. 5 and 6). Thereupon it connects with one end of an invertedU-shaped portion 3 whose other end may extend through a slot inthebottom of the chamber 2 at its right end to form a wire terminal portionI. If desired, the terminal end of the inverted U portion may be offsetslightly in an outward direction so as tolie within a shallow recess,such as I". Such offsetting may be particularly advantageous if thecasing is molded symmetrically throughout.

By making the casing symmetrical, it is possible not only to use theform of central contact just described, but it is possible also to usestationary contacts at the ends of the chamber H2 of the same form asillustrated (in Fig. 7) at the ends of the chamber H4, when desired.

Referring to the form of central contact as illustrated in Figs. 6 and7, it will be understood that when the bridging contact is moved fromthe position of Fig. 7 ineither a counterclockwise or a clockwisedirection, the ends of its arms I32, I 3| will either engage the fixedcontact I38 and the left end 'portion of the central contactbers III andIII, adjacent the top-edges thereof.

Mounted on the center of the spindle III is a metallic disc I88havingrecesses I8I. Ill and Ill in the periphery thereof to receive thespring pressed indexing balls, such as I8I and I82. A radial slot I81 isformed in the periphery of the disc member I88 and receives a transversepin I88 mounted in the end portion of a centrallylocated short rod I81which extends out from and above the casing I88. For operating theswitch mechanism and for moving the rod I81, an operating button orhandle I88 which is or may be of cylindrical form and made frominsulating material is molded or mounted upon the upper end of the rodI81. The operating button is slidably mounted upon a metallic mountingand cover plate I88. That plate has a centrally located slot I88 runninglongitudinally with respect to the casing to permit passage therethroughand sliding movement therealong by the rod. This cover plate I88 issecured over the casing by means of bolts threaded into tabs or lugs I88which extend from the ends of the plate I84 and are offset downwardly soas to space the plate I88 from the top surface of the casing andslightly above an insulating cover plate I18 located between the casingand the metal cover plate I88. A slidable rectangular metal plate IIllis fixedly secured in any suitable manner on the rod I81 under the coverplate I84 in such manner as to slide over the under surface 01' saidcover plate I88. In order to guide the sliding movement of plate I18 andthus to guide the sliding of the rod I81 and operating member I88, theside edges of the plate I ,88 are, or may be bent down as at I88 so thatthe side edges of the slide plate I'III slidably engage said bent downedges.

From the foregoing it may be observed that the operating member I88 maybe moved from the position illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 to the right orto the left by a sliding motion. Such motion will cause clockwise orcounterclockwise rotation of the spindle H8 and disc member I80 carriedthereby by reason of the engagement of the transverse pin I88 in theslot III. In order that this rotation of the spindle may be imparted tothe movable contacts, insulating discs I88 having square centralapertures are slidably mounted on the spindle II8 on opposite sides ofindex- 1 ing and operating disc I88. On opposite sides of these discsI88, movable bridging contacts, such as I88, are located. These contactsare generally similar in form to the bridging contact 38 in the formpreviously described. In order to translate movement of the spindle anddiscs I88 to the movable contacts radially extended lugs, such as I88,are bent at right angles to the plane of the bridging contact to liewithin peripheral notches,

assemble, yet their resulting combination is a switch capableofcontrolling low power circuits effectively.

Many modifications within the scope of my invention will occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore I do not limit it to the specific formsillustrated.

What I claim is: v

1. In a. multi-position switch, an insulating casing having parallelchambers with bearing recesses in the walls thereof, insulating bossesrotatively supported across said chambers in said recesses, movablecontact members carried by said bosses adjacent the walls of saidchambers, stationary contacts engageable by said movable contacts andslidably mounted in slots in the walls of said chambers, in combinationwith means to move said bosses and contacts simultaneously comprising anoperating lever extending into said casing, a pair of oppositely facingmetal stampings engaged with said bosses for simultaneous rotation,laterally extending means on the end of said lever engaging in slots insaid stampings to cause rotation of said stampings when said lever is.moved, and indexing balls and springs seated in one of said chamberswith said balls engaging recesses on the peripheries of said stampingsto releasabiy hold the stampings in one or another of several switchpositions.

2. In a multi-position switch, a casing having three parallel chambers,stationary contact means in certain of said chambers, movable contactsengageable with said stationary contacts, springs and indexing balls inthe middle chamber, a rotary member having peripheral recesses engagedby said balls to hold said rotary member releasably in three switchpositions, retaining means over said springs and balls to hold them insaid middle chamber, operating means outside said casing extendingtherein, means transversely extending from the operating means andengaging in a slot in said rotary member for causing rotation thereof assaid operating member is moved, and means extending transversely of saidchambers supporting said rotary member and iournalled in bearingrecesses in the walls of said chambers, said transversely-extendingmeans engaging with said movable contacts to operate them in response tomovement of said operating means.

3. In a multi-position switch, an insulating casing having threeparallel chambers, movable contacts in the outside chambers, fixedcontacts at the ends and bottom of said chambers for engagement by saidmovable contacts, each movable contact having supporting and operatingmeans comprising an insulating boss rotatively supported in bearingrecesses in the walls of said chambers, a shoulder on said boss by whichsaid movable contact is held adjacent a wall of the chamber, saidmovable contact and boss being keyed for' Joint rotation, indexing meansin the middle chamber, means turning with said bosses and havingperipheral recesses engaged by said indexing means releasably to holdsaid movable contacts in any of three positions.

4. A multi-position switch as claimed in claim 3 having its bridgingcontact in angular form to disengage all fixed contacts in amid-position of the switch, and to engage one end contact and a bottomcontact in positions on either side oi said mid position.

5. A multi-position switch as claimed in claim 3 wherein the meansturning with said bosses comprise identical metal stampings placed faceto face and keyed to diilerent bosses for. joint rotation therewith.

6. A multi-position switch as claimed in claim 5, having an operatingmember extending into the casing, said stampings being formed to provideentrance therebetween of the inwardly ex- 1 1 3 wherein the meansturning with said bosses comprise identical metal stampings placed faceto face and keyed to different bosses for joint rotation therewith, andindexing balls and springs in the middle casing chamber engaging atoppomember between said insulating members turning in unison therewith,indexing balls and springs in the middle base chamber pressing onopposite sides of said indexing member into peripheral recesses thereinto hold the switch releasable in one or another of three positions, anoperating member extending into the base and having a transverse partslidably engaging with a slot in said indexing member to cause rotarymovement thereof as said operating member is moved.

11. In a multl-position switch as claimed in claim 10 wherein the meanswhich causes the in- .dexingmember and the rotary contact-carryingmembers-to turn in unison is a spindle having non-circular sectionpassing through similarlysectioned aperturesin said rotary and indexingmembers.

site sides of said stamping into peripheral recesses to hold the switchreleasably in one or another of three positions.

9. A multi-position switch as claimed in claim 3 wherein the meansturning with said bosses comprise metal stampings keyed to diflerentbosses for rotation therewith, said stampings having slots and beingformed to provide a space therebetween for entrance of an operatingmember, and a pivoted operating member having an end extending into saidspace, a transverse pin on said end entering said slots and causing bothsaid stampings to rotate simultaneously.

10. In a multi-position switch, an insulating base having three parallelchambers, fixed contacts at the ends and in the bottom of the outerchambers, angular movable contacts engageable with certain of the fixedcontacts, in combination with supporting and operating means for themovable contacts comprising circular rotary insulating members keyed tosaid movable contacts for rotation in unison therewith, an indexin 12.In a multi-fposition switch as claimed in claim 10, wherein theoperating member is a slidably mounted member, a plate overlying thebase over the surface of which said operating member slides, and meansconnected with'said operating member and sliding beneath said plate andholding saidoperating member on said plate.

13. Ina multi-position switch as claimed in claim 10, a mounting plateoverlying the base and having a slot through which said operating memberprojects, said mounting plate being spaced from the top surface of thebase, and a slidable guide plate beneath said mounting plate connectedwith said operating member.

ROBERT H. BENTLEY.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS

